This was fun, and an interesting concept, but it was a bit predictable in its formula. While I didn’t see every twist and turn coming, I guessed many of the significant ones pretty early on. This is fine, because the plot was engaging, and it was fun to see everything come together. The pacing wasn’t great. I was a bit disappointed to see that the character development did feel a bit rushed. There would be significant revelations or developments shoehorned in with little warning or regard for the flow. Overall - fun read but not spectacular or particularly memorable unfortunately.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This book was super fast paced and fun! It was such a fun experience to read the characters go through and solve all the puzzles and riddles, like watching friends complete board game puzzles. I found the characters to be relatable and having representation within the book made me so happy to see. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend!

Jewel created the ever popular app Golden Rule and has invited a select group of users to her estate for the weekend. What the group thought was going to be a nice weekend getting to know Jewel turns into a game filled with challenges and a cash prize.

This was told in three different POVs and I couldn’t tell who was who half of the time. I had to go back several times to figure out whose chapter I was on because they were all similar and I couldn’t remember each of them that well.

Some parts were confusing, especially how to solve the puzzles. I felt like as a reader we didn’t get enough backstory or explanation as to why they solved them the way they did.

I did have fun reading this since it gave off The Inheritance Games vibes, but it wasn’t the same. It was a quick read with a decent ending.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t so into it as I wish I would. It tools me a pretty long time to just fell into the book even tho the plot was interesting.

This book was an unexpected surprise. I initially thought it would be a romance or rom com and then quickly found that it was a mystery! I like how Claire Kann switched up her style here! I am a big fan of multiple POVs and was so happy to get that in this book as well!

The Marvelous was a great idea, that I think was executed pretty well.
The characters were mostly interesting, but I think what kept me reading was just the idea of this place where they were and the challenges.
I think the story went a little off the rails at the end, but I still enjoyed the read, and think YA readers who like a little mystery and darkness would really enjoy as well.

The plot and the puzzles in this treasure hunt novel were just not very interesting, and neither were the characters. Ultimately, there's something deeply unpleasant about poor people being made to compete for the approval of the rich.

This is not the sort of book I would normally read, but Claire Kann wrote it, so obviously I needed it. I have no regrets. What an adventure. The Marvelous grabs you from the beginning with a vaguely dystopian-Willy Wonka premise (but what social media-driven plot isn't?) and doesn't let go. Kann's riddles were a step above, and her characters! Stella for life. In a weird way, I’d comp this to Gideon the Ninth though they’re very very different books.

The Marvelous was an incredibly fascinating YA Mystery which keeps you hooked from the very beginning.

Jewel Van Hanen is an heiress and an actress and her every move has always been followed. She creates a video sharing app, Golden Rule, which instantly becomes popular. Almost immediately after, Jewel disappears for a whole year and nobody knows where she is. And then suddenly she’s back and invites four of Golden Rules’ followers to spend the weekend at her private estate.

Once the followers are there, Jewel Changes the rules and the guests are now meant to be players in a game that’ll require their best tricks, intelligence, etc. There’s challenges, puzzles and obstacles all around and she wants to see who has What it takes to win, no matter the cost they have to pay for it.

The story was told from the perspective of three players, Nicole, Luna and Stella. The story by itself was incredibly interesting but the multiple POVs and glimpse inside players’ heads made it even better. Other than the mystery aspect, the book explored the world of social media and showed lots of puzzles and challenges.

The challenges and riddles had a way of instantly pulling you in, the clues seemed so real, it felt like I was trying to solve them myself. This book would honestly be perfect as a movie. I also found the characters incredibly intriguing and I loved glimpsing inside all their heads time to time, seeing what they thought, their intelligence, how cunning they were willing to be to win the game.

If anyone loves YA Mystery and stories with multiple POVs where everything isn’t as it seems, this book would be a definite recommend!

This book is a bit too confusing for my taste. However, the characterization, witty banter, and atmosphere are top notch. So I still recommend this book to all the mystery fans out there!

(Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan's Children's Publishing Group for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Wow. I could not get into this at all. I tried so hard and even went back and read certain paragraphs several times, but I just wasn't the least bit interested. Surprising because the plot sounds like a modern day Willy Wonka and the game aspect gave me Caraval & Inheritance Games vibes. Unfortunately, this was just not a hit for me and I spent the last half of the book waiting for it to be over.

My biggest problem with this book is that I had a lot of difficulty telling the characters apart. Stella, Luna, and the other one whose name I now forget seemed too similar in my brain and I constantly had to go back to remember who was who. There were no distinct voices. Maybe Jewel was distinct enough, but even the game runner herself seemed similar to the players.

Another big problem is that I just didn't get it. I didn't even understand what game they were playing, how to decipher clues, and what role the Golden Rule had in all of this. It was just really confusing.

I tried, guys. I tried. I wanted to like this since Let's Talk About Love was a pleasant surprise for me, but this was just not for me.

I really enjoyed this book! If you enjoyed The Westing Game, this book is for you. The riddles and clues were complex enough to keep me guessing, and I liked the shifts to different characters' perspectives.

This was interesting! It's like a willy wonka type book. It was a bit hard to get through though. The first half was just a bit confusing to get into, lots of information to process and while that isn't a bad thing, it was just a bit hard to understand at first. Also in the first half it was all about the challenges and the characters trying to figure out these challenges and I just found it very hard to read through all of their thought processes with the challenges, I'm not sure why exactly.
In the second half though, it does pick up a lot. After they go through the majority of the challenges it really focuses more on the characters themselves, and also focuses on them trying to figure out Jewel which was interesting. The ending was also interesting and I can honestly say I did not know what to expect for the ending!

Another unexpected gem I enjoyed!

The Perks of being a reader in this digital era is thatodern technology such as social media makes the content much relatable.

I ordered a physical copy so I can reread this one. Truly marvelous!

The Marvelous by Claire Kann is mystifying story about a game that does not go as expected. Set during a competition in its reclusive creator’s mansion, this one is filled with puzzles and unique challenges. I enjoyed all three narrators, and the eerie atmosphere the author has created makes the story jump off the page. This is a great read for those looking for a contemporary with an exciting twist.

❀ HIGH-STAKES GAME

After Jewel, the creator of a popular video-sharing app, suddenly disappears, she returns to the platform to announce that she has selected a group of users to come to her mansion for the weekend. However, when the guests arrive at Golden Weekend, Jewel reveals that they must play her elaborate game, promising cryptic puzzles, two winners, and one million dollars. Nothing in the game is as it seems, and the players find the stakes slowly getting higher.

❀ THREE NARRATORS

This book contains three narrators, and I enjoyed each of them. Luna is Jewel’s biggest fan, and she has experience cracking her codes. Nicole is one of the app’s most popular creators, and she has a big heart. The third is not as obvious a choice: Stella a mysterious new user. She was my favourite to follow because of her sense of humour. The multiple narrators are effective because they provide each of the players’ perspectives of the game, and of each other. All three players have their own reasons for competing, and their voices are distinct, which I appreciated.

❀ MYSTERIOUS ATMOSPHERE

What makes the book compelling is its mysterious atmosphere. Claire Kann has done an outstanding job setting the tone of Jewel’s mansion with her elaborate puzzles and themed rooms, and there is always the feeling that something is off. Something about this book gave me Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vibes, so I’m sure fans of this story will enjoy reading about Golden Weekend and its mysterious creator.

❀ A UNIQUE STORY

The Marvelous by Claire Kann is a unique story about an eerie competition. I loved the cryptic puzzles throughout the book, and all three main characters are well-developed. What I especially enjoyed is the atmosphere the author creates, making for an immersive reading experience. Those looking for a thrilling contemporary will not want to miss this one.

There are a lot of fun things going on in this book, and I love the concept of radically different people coming together, trying to solve a mystery, and creating a little found family in the process. But a lot of the core mystery aspects just didn't work for me: the steps to solve the mystery were often shallow and/or confusing, and I wish it had gotten the proper time to shine. Still, I think teenagers would have a lot of fun with this, especially because it's so easy to feel represented by Luna, Nicole, Stella, and Harlow, who together appeal to a wide variety of readers. Whether you're quiet and warm or a blabbermouth who can't help but show off, you'll see yourself in one of these young women.

Six teens are pulled into a game in an heiress' mansion with a life changing cash prize.

This is a very original concept and nothing like any of the other stories I've read recently so props to the author for that. There was a lot put into the game with the challenges and riddles they had to solve however I never fully got into the story. I think it would be better visually especially with the cast of multiple characters. It was hard for me to get into all the different POVS. I initially liked them in the beginning but the further we got throughout the story the less appealing they were to me. And they had very similar narrative voices

This book was THE INHERITANCE GAMES meets WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. It had riddles, dangerous adventures, and lots of money on the line.

I think I expected more from this book which is why I was so unsatisfied by the ending. It was not a bad book; I just thought things were going to go differently than they did.

The beginning was fun because I was trying to figure out what was happening and who of the participants I could trust. It felt like each character had something to hide and I was convinced something sinister was going to happen. The real reasons behind each character's actions and thoughts turned out to be much less exciting.

However, I did enjoy trying to solve the riddle. It was twisty and fun and Kann did a great job of weaving all the clues together. Also, she threw in plenty of curveballs to keep me on my toes. I know I wouldn't have lasted as a participant in this game so props to these characters.

Overall, I expected more from this book, but it still had many positives to it. I just wish things could have played out a little differently.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

So I enjoyed the book I’ve read by this author before, If It Makes You Happy, and when I heard about this one, I signed up right away! This one was a little different from the one I’d already read, and from what I know of her books so far. While it was a contemporary and definitely fits into a #ownvoices category, it had a bit of a mystery to it as well. But in a really fun way. It was almost like a horror movie, except it wasn’t filled with murder or anything. Just some dangerous or scary situations, missing people, a big prize at the end, and lots of secrets and intrigue. And honestly, that was right up my alley! It kept me guessing though, the whole way through, not knowing just how far the game might really end up going. And the little bits we knew about each of the characters made it definitely even more edge of your seat as you read.

I loved that all of the characters were diverse. Even the rich/famous person wasn’t just a Paris Hilton wannabe. Now I kind of thought maybe there was more to Jewel’s story than we got, and even though we did get more, it didn’t quite go down one of the paths I thought it might. Although I kind of thought it might be what happened though. I don’t want to say anymore because the mystery in this is definitely part of why you should read it. As I mentioned, all the characters had really unique personalities, some that came off as abrupt and totally different than what I would have expected based on their background. But I also liked the way they may have grown as the weekend went on, and the connections they all made with each other. Another great story from Claire Kann!